Google Scribe - Autocompletes word suggestions as you type. May be a viable option for older students. Does not offer flex or phonetic spelling. Combine with Click,Speak or other free text-to-speech tools when editing what has been written.
My Study Bar - a comprehensive set of portable open source and freeware applications to support learners with literacy difficulties. MyStudyBar is similar to popular commercial programs which use a floating toolbar to support literacy. The main is MyStudyBa is free. The toolbar includes a range of tools to support inclusion such as mind mapping, screen masking, word prediction, talking dictionary, text-to-speech, Save as MP3 and voice recognition. PC Only. (Speech recognition only works in Vista or Windows 7) Watch the video of the My Study Bar features here.
Synonym Support - Need a thesaurus? Right Click (on Mac - CTL + Click) on any word and then click on Synonyms for a list of alternative word choices. You must show this one to your students to help them with word choice. (Students with spelling issues will frequently use words they feel confident spelling. Unfortunately, this may limit the words they choose as their vocabulary is not reflected in the written product. It is essential we show students how to easily access Synonym Support).
Ghotit- Online contextual spell checker and grammar checker service,great for students with Learning Disabilities! Tell them to bookmark it on their home computers.
Check out the Ghotit Microsoft Add-in that provides text-to-speech within the correction window
Rhyming Support Tools - RhymeZone and PoetryforKids. Type a word and rhyming choices appear!
Spelling City - insert the week's spelling list and students can play games, finish worksheets, and complete other interactive activities.
Paper Rater - offers grammar, spell-checking and plagiarism detection. (High school and above writing only)
Writing Checklists - generate customized checklists, develop these with your students. Great for K-12
Writing Tools
Story Jumper - Story building tool with scenes, props and text with spell check support. Can add your own photos. Also allows you to publish your work for a fee. You do not need to sign in to create a book.
Little Bird Tales - story building tool, records audio/allows narration. very easy to use! Excellent for younger students
Writing Fun - watch the screen cast here to see how to use this interactive, online, structured writing tool to help elementary age students write descriptions, narratives, poetry, explanations, procedures, etc.
Kerpoof has created a free story creator that provides many prompts to students as they generate text and ideas. Specifically, it limits students to 6 themes: fantasy, winter tales, inventors, aliens, rock party, and pirates. For many students, limiting choice can assist task completion.
Bookr - create your own storybook using Flickr images. very easy to use, view examples in the archives.
Story Maker - Provides structured support with audio input. Use this with reluctant writers. When the story is finished, it can be printed or linked to a pdf. Excellent tool!
Suessville StoryMaker - Use characters from Dr. Suess' Horton Hears a Who to write a short story. When you are done, the story is played back.
Read/write/think- Interactive digital activities (click the interactive links - there are many to choose from)
Story Starter, Jr. - Sometimes, determining where to begin is the obstacle. Story Starter, Jr. offers 729 one line story starters for students. Click the link, get the starter, copy and paste and you are good to go!
Mnemograph - collaborative, online Time Line tools
Scholastic: Story Starters for Grades 1-4 - Story Starters is a bank of writing prompts. Student spins the lever to get a writing prompt. To allow for even greater creativity, the student can spin wheels to change any part of the prompt.
Macintosh users may use TextEdit or Apple's Pages word processor for some simple word completion. Simply begin typing and press the escape key in the middle of longer words.
Writing Tools
- Storybird - collaborative storytelling, beautiful graphics.
Storybird Quick Tour from Storybird on Vimeo.Storybird Quick Tour from Storybird on Vimeo.
Comic Strip Creation Tools (online tools)
Word cloud generators (many ways to use these free tools - Get some ideas here)
Techniques:
Macintosh users may use TextEdit or Apple's Pages word processor for some simple word completion. Simply begin typing and press the escape key in the middle of longer words.